


Escape Tunnel

by Zoraidaz



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Gen, Panic Attacks, canon!verse, human!Cas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-05
Updated: 2014-11-05
Packaged: 2018-02-24 05:32:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2569958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoraidaz/pseuds/Zoraidaz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean wakes up alone in bed and can't find Castiel anywhere.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Escape Tunnel

Dean knew something was wrong the moment he woke up.

Beside him, the bed was empty. Since Castiel had fallen, becoming human, he had begun to take on human needs, such as eating, drinking and sleeping. However, having not slept in eons meant that it was still difficult for him. He found it hard to drift off when awake, and hard to wake up when asleep.

So, he hadn’t simply drifted awake earlier than him.

Something had _made_ him wake up.

Dean sat up swiftly, his head swinging as he looked around the room. The missing person was, predictably, nowhere in sight. Placing a hand on the crumpled sheets beside him confirmed that they were cold. He had been gone a while.

Without even pausing to stretch and yawn, Dean threw the covers off his lap and got out of the bed, slamming the already slightly ajar door properly open. He called Cas’ name quietly at first, unsure if he should alert anyone to the fact he, too, was awake just yet. The utter silence that followed, though, prompted a louder call.

Still no reply.

There wasn’t even a whisper of a voice. Anxiously, Dean began to search the rooms nearby, constantly calling out the fallen man’s name every few minutes, in the hopes he’d be in the next room.

Half an hour later and he was still alone. Dean had to take a step back and take a few deep breaths, calm himself down, force the worst thoughts out of his mind. He had to be rational. He had to eliminate every possibility before panicking – but he still had to prepare for the worst.

First step – get Sam. Sam would know what to do.

Dean found his legs carrying him to the other hunter’s room faster than he would have liked to admit, his feet almost pounding on the floor. He pushed the door open with more force than intended, the loud bang as it hit the wall throwing his brother wide awake.

“I can’t find Cas,” Dean said instantly, not giving Sam time to yell at him. He sat up in a rush, his face creased up in concern. He took a deep breath and looked up at his older brother.

“Well, have you looked in the bathroom?” he said slowly, sluggishly slipping out of bed as well. Dean nodded, gulping air down.

“Downstairs?” 

Dean reluctantly admitted he hadn’t, and Sam forced a smile.

“Well then! Let’s go look,” he said confidently, clapping the older man on his shoulder. Dean followed him wordlessly, striding down three stairs at a time in order to get there faster. Once downstairs, they checked every room together – Dean for need of comfort and Sam to make sure he was okay, even though it was clear he wasn’t.

However, even with both of their efforts, the man they’d come to love was still missing.

Dean sat down heavily on a nearby chair, eyes wide as he struggled to keep himself together.

“Maybe someone took him,” he mumbled, chewing his cheek and refusing to believe the fallen angel would just walk out on him. Sam gently sat down opposite him; worry also beginning to get the better of him. He was nowhere near in the same state as the other hunter, though, who was shaking like a leaf and about to break down in tears.

He sighed and shook his head in resignation. “No… there’re no signs of forced entry, and the place is too well protected for a supernatural entity to break in. He… he must have left volunta-”

“Shh,” Dean suddenly ordered, holding up a hand. His eyes blazed with concentration as his ears practically perked up, listening to something. Sam raised an eyebrow but obeyed, straining to hear with his brother could. From the back of the bunker, he could hear very soft, very distant crying. At first he wondered what on earth it was, then it dawned on him.

“Cas,” they breathed, both standing up simultaneously. Dean nodded, jaw set, as he pretty much ran towards the source of the muffled sobs. After a few, torturously long minutes he was led to a small, cramped escape tunnel, mostly hidden by furniture but had been pushed aside recently. The cries came clearly from within.

“Cas...?” Dean called out quietly, poking his head in. He could just about make out the slumped form of the fallen angel deep inside, his shoulders quaking as his body was wracked with sobs. The reek of vomit hit the hunter in the face not a moment later, and he wrinkled his nose in disgust and concern.

“Cas, what on earth are you doing in here? Come on, get out,” he said brusquely, all too aware of his brother standing expectantly behind him. Castiel didn’t seem to have heard, though, as he simply continued sobbing hard enough to retch some more. Without looking behind him, Dean climbed in after him, now ignoring the smell and the cramped conditions.

Suddenly, Cas’ head whipped to face Dean, his eyes wide and terrified. He tried scrabbling to get away, but Dean launched himself after him, just about managing to catch the back of his coat before he was out of reach. He cried and begged to be let go, his body flailing around. Dean tried his best to avoid getting hit and hauled him out of there, landing on the floor with a thump. Cas lashed out at him like a wounded animal, whimpering and whining as Dean tried in vain to calm him down. He pulled him into his arms and held him, rocking gently as he stroked the fallen angel’s hair, whispering words of comfort into his ear and kissing his forehead so tenderly. At first, he struggled even harder, biting and scratching at him, but eventually he fell still, too weak to continue.

Sam found it very difficult to watch this unfold before him, so he busied himself gathering blankets and making warm drinks. He built up the soft materials around the two men, knowing that they weren’t going to be moving any time soon, and left the drinks nearby, just in reach but far enough so they wouldn’t carelessly be knocked over. Dean thanked him with his eyes, words getting too caught in his throat to escape his lips.

When he deemed him ready, the hunter eventually pulled back and studied his partner, on the verge of tears himself.

“What the hell happened back there, Cas…?” he whispered, his thumb rubbing his shoulder anxiously. Cas shook his head, hands still shaking, refusing to answer. “Come on, you can tell me.”

Another shake.

“ _Please_ tell me.”

Cas took a deep, uneven breath and sobbed again, pushing Dean away so he could bring his knees in to his chest and cover his head with his hands. He tore at his hair with his fingers, almost pulling it out as the strangled cries of agony left his body. Dean refused to back away, now instead stubbornly looping his arm around his shoulders and keeping him close that way. Eventually, Cas did speak, but no matter what Dean did, he refused to elaborate on the one sentence he could manage.

“I still remember falling.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure that was a panic attack or generally just a breakdown - or if that was the best way to deal with a lover having one - but I had a go. If I got anything badly wrong or was offensive in any way please let me know and I'll change it ^-^
> 
> Thanks for reading~


End file.
